Mayor John Whitmire joined city officials, neighborhood leaders and nonprofit partners to launch a three-year, EPA-funded environmental justice initiative in Houston’s Fifth Ward, organizers said at a kickoff event.

The program, city and partner speakers said, will plant 1,000 climate-resistant trees, conduct large-scale trash cleanups, offer free solar job training with paid internships, distribute fruit trees, and fund pollution monitoring and flood mitigation efforts in neighborhoods near the Union Pacific site.

The initiative is funded in part by grants from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and involves multiple community and nonprofit partners. A Health Department representative said the EPA grants are “responsive to some of the concerns that were raised” in neighborhood meetings and described the projects as targeting extreme-weather impacts, pollution and illegal dumping. The Health Department representative said, “The trees and trash initiatives will result in planting a thousand climate resistant trees and conduct large scale trash cleanups to beautify and fortify the community, and we're being beginning that today.”

Cleo Lehi Johnson McLaughlin, president of Black United Fund of Texas — the organization identified at the event as lead on one of the EPA grants — said the work will emphasize employment opportunities for residents. “Oftentimes, communities as such as this will look for services. That is the only thing that cripples the community. And coming from the community, we don't need services. We need opportunities,” she said, adding the grant will fund training for residents to become solar and electrical installers.

Council member Tarsha Jackson, who represents District B and the Fifth Ward, urged residents to report illegal dumping and to partner with city cleanup teams. Jackson provided a city hotline for illegal dumping, (832) 393-3009, and said the effort should be a partnership between residents, civic clubs, super neighborhoods and the city. “If you see somebody dumping trash, report it. Take a picture of them,” she said.

Mark Wilfock, identified at the event as Houston’s solid waste director, called the work “a privilege” and said city resources — including trucks and crews — would support the cleanups. “After this gathering ... the real work begins,” Wilfock said, urging volunteers and residents to remain engaged.

Residents and neighborhood leaders framed the initiative as addressing long-standing environmental and health concerns. Kathy Glover Daniels, a lifelong Fifth Ward resident, used the event slogan to emphasize local responsibility: “Trees not trash,” she said, and described the health benefits of planting shade trees for heat mitigation and air-quality improvements.

Speakers repeatedly tied the projects to environmental justice and community-driven planning. Mayor John Whitmire said being present at the event should “fire us up” and urged residents and partners to continue the work beyond the ceremonial event: “What’s in more important is everyone that can hear my voice will leave here fired up, determined to make a difference.”

Organizers said the program includes workforce components — free solar job training and paid internships — aimed at creating local employment tied to climate resilience projects. Other listed components at the event included flood mitigation projects, pollution monitoring, and distribution of fruit trees to enhance community sustainability. The Health Department representative said some training will help residents “navigate pollution alerts and advocate for environmental justice.”

No formal votes or municipal legislative actions were recorded at the event. Organizers closed by asking volunteers to begin planting immediately; city crews and partners were positioned to support the neighborhood cleanups and tree planting that followed.